A/N:

A long awaited new chapter!
I am actually hating on myself how long it is taking me to get new chapter done lately but truth be told I'm so burnt-out from work that I feel like I've been a zombie for a while now, getting home after work and being unable to bring myself to do anything. Regardless I apologize for the horrendous delays GAH

Thankfully I FINALLY have a week off of work coming up and words cannot explain how excited I am to have the proper time to actually switch off from work (because let's face it, 2 day weekends are NOT enough) and start to recover mentally. I'm hoping my game will pick up then!

It had taken several hours even by bullet train, with a changeover mid-way and then bus ride up, but they had finally made it up the mountain and into their lodging for their four day stay up north for the snow, but Katsuki was already buggered after having so many people bustling about in his personal space all damn day. To the point where even Deku standing close beside him was making his skin tingle with irritation, though he did well in not snapping at the nerd for something that wasn't entirely in his control.

Arriving at the front of the snow scaped hotel was the first break Katsuki got from being surrounded by people upon exiting the bus and grabbing their luggage before it crawled off with chains on its tires to its next stop even further up the mountain. Usually Katsuki would have liked to be higher up for the views and no doubt better accommodation judging from the price point, but those places had been considered practically resorts and were too popular for the blonde's liking. Firstly because they were still popular heroes – even if their weren't currently active – and more people meant higher chances of being approached by annoying extras. And two, because staying a bit further down the mountain was cheaper by a large margin. It meant a little more time and effort to get up to the slopes, but they had agreed that they hadn't minded that. After all, now that they were back to not working, that meant no income outside of accepting media related jobs like interviews or photoshoots etcetera. Something that did not appeal to Katsuki in the slightest.

Katsuki wasn't even one to agree to having action figures or hero cards made of him – something his old agency had whined about far too much – because that wasn't the point of being a hero to him. Looking back, those little bits of royalties could have come in handy, but in the grand scheme of things, Katsuki was glad he had stuck to his own morals and growled away anyone who had dared approach him over licensing agreements. Deku it seemed had agreed to some. The nerd didn't have figures or anything of the sort either but had agreed to being on a hero card – the same sort Katsuki and he used to collect as kids – and had been a part of a gender neutral underwear range that had come out and been sponsored by several popular heroes. Though even then all that had been needed from Deku was an agreement to print his trade mark green and black colours onto a piece of material. There had been no photo shoots or interviews from it, not from Deku anyway.

A horrible image popped into Katsuki's mind of what could have been: Deku in a magazine or on a bill board, wearing nothing but that damn brief style cut green and black underwear and smiling for the cameras. Katsuki could feel a wave of uncomfortable heat surge up his neck, to his ears and before it could touch his face, he dropped his bag just inside their room, took a few bigger steps to reach one of the single beds and let gravity carry him to the mattress face first with a growl of annoyance at his damn brain.

Katsuki still very strongly stood by the whole kissing-makes-brain-go-mushy theory of his and ground his teeth into the white covers as he relived that horrible fact.

The blonde was left to wallow in his own annoyances at his minds betrayal for only a minute before there was a light tap at his shoulder and he turned his head that way and rested his cheek upon the covers with a glare. Standing at his bedside with a gentle smile was no one other than his current pain in the ass, Deku.

Tired already Kacchan? He asked. Katsuki grumbled a rough no in reply.

People out? The nerd followed up with. Katsuki narrowed his eyes further, taking a second more to come to the conclusion that Deku had meant "peopled out", but the greenette didn't wait for a response, taking Katsuki's moment of translation to mean a yes before his eyes seemed to soften and he stepped away to leave Katsuki be. If Katsuki hadn't known the nerd better, he would have assumed that look to have been pity, but he had made the mistake of that quick judgment too many times to fall for it again, especially when the nerd's green eyes had sparkled with something more friendly there.

After another minute or so, Katsuki pushed himself up onto all fours with another grumble before shifting to sit properly on the bed and surveyed the room. They had booked a twin room, featuring two plush looking single beds in the center of the room with only a meter of space between them. There was a shelf by their head boards that acted as a bedside table for them, completed with power points and individual lamps upon flexible necks. There was an actual bedside table, much smaller and with a draw on the opposite side of each of the beds along with yet another power point and lamps, these ones sitting on wider bases than the little goosenecks ones in the center. On the wall opposite their beds and situated on either side of the entryway was a small closest for each of them to which Deku had already pulled both of their bags too and placed them on the floor before them. Apparently Deku had taken Katsuki flopping onto one of the beds to be an act of him claiming it and had moved Katsuki's bag from the doorway to the wardrobe opposite where he currently sat.

Looking about the room he could see a kitchenette with a small two seater dining set to one side of the room with a glass door leading out to a small balcony. And on the other side, a small living space complete with two seater sofa, coffee table, tv and a fake fire place heater. A nice touch Katsuki thought, though a real one would have been far nicer, he could understand why the room didn't house such a fire hazard though. Who knew what morons could be staying in these rooms after all. Adjacent to the lounge was a door that must have been the bathroom. A room of which had it's light on and that a green head popped out of with a smile a moment later when Katsuki shifted to get off of the bed and Deku must have heard him.

The bathroom is amazing, the nerd signed his way and Katsuki headed over with a frown. Deku stepped back as he approached and peeked inside the room. Inside was a decent sized traditional bathroom. Nothing to bat ones' eyes at really and Katsuki's expression had said as much when he turned his unimpressed frown Deku's way before stepping back out to sort his clothes for their stay. He could see why the nerd was impressed though, both of their apartments had small western style bathrooms, so having a traditional one was a pleasant change.

Having arrived in the afternoon with only a couple of hours before sunset, there wasn't much point for either of them to bother trying to grab some time on the slopes, so they both just opted to settle in for the evening after unpacking their things. They had grabbed a late lunch – if Katsuki would even deem a crappy train station sandwich worthy of the title of a meal – on their way up north so they weren't massively hungry. The place they were staying at offered a breakfast menu for extra, but outside of that and seeing as it was well past standard breakfast time, a "meal" from a vending machine down the hall would have to do till they ventured up the mountain to pick up their hired snow gear and could pop into the one and only little grocery store that was up that way too.

Katsuki frowned miserably at his second shitty sandwich of the day before narrowing his eyes Deku's way, the nerd not even noticing the heated glare his way whilst he happily took a bite of his own pieces of bread. After that Katsuki went to claim the bathroom for himself, taking his sweet time washing himself off, having a long soak in the tub and finished with brushing his teeth. Almost an hour had passed by the time he emerged from the warm, still steamy room, his hair finally dry enough to no longer need a towel. He headed for his little temporary wardrobe with nothing on but a towel around his waist to scrounge through and find some loose pants and tank top to sleep in.

He realised his mistake too late, halting with his hand halfway in to reach his chosen clothing. Here he was, wandering around Deku of all people in nothing but a towel that was loosely clinging to his body. Deku who liked guys…. Well, guys and girls or whatever.

Katsuki's heart picked up its pace inside his ribcage and he could feel heat threaten to creep up his neck. Rather than remaining there frozen though, Katsuki grit his teeth into a fierce snarl, snatched up his pieces of clothing and spun on his heel, ready to bark at the nerd for gawking at him, but the fire that had been building inside him died out just as quickly when he saw that the nerd hadn't been paying him any attention at all. Despite Katsuki literally stranding just a few steps off to the side of Deku's direct line of sight, the nerd's green eyes were instead illuminated by the bright screen of his laptop. In fact, if Deku lifted his gaze just a fraction, he would see Katsuki standing there staring at him almost dumbfoundedly. Surely Katsuki was at least in the nerd's peripheral, yet the idiot was so engrossed in whatever he was doing, that nothing else must have even existed in that moment.

It reminded him of high school.

Katsuki turned his back on the nerd, grinding his teeth to himself for getting worked up over apparently nothing before doing his best not to literally stomp back to the bathroom to change. If his footsteps were on the heavier side, Deku showed no sign of noticing it.

When Katsuki returned to the room with a more neutral expression he walked past his bed to reach the nerd, grumbling a "what the hell are you doing?" as he approached. What surprised him though was how quickly Deku slammed his laptop shut the moment he heard Katsuki's voice and blinked up at the blonde as though he hadn't known he was there. Katsuki narrowed his eyes back at the greenette with suspicion and annoyance.

Nothing important, the greenette tried to smile in return, looking embarrassed at his own reaction and trying to brush it away.

Yeah, sure looked it, Katsuki threw back with an eye roll. But he didn't push the subject. It wasn't like Katsuki had to know every damn thing the nerd was doing at all times. Out of the corner of his eye, Deku blinked back at his closed laptop before slowly opening it again to keep doing whatever it was he was doing once Katsuki had pulled back the covers of his bed and gotten into them, ready for sleep.

After a couple of minutes with Katsuki's back to Deku, the greenette got up to switch off the main lights, the only illumination remaining coming from the lamp on Deku's bedside, but it wasn't enough of a bother to keep Katsuki awake and without being able to hear constant typing, mumbling or any audio the other man may have been listening to, falling asleep was relatively easy.

A new day and an early start.

Katsuki was out of bed at seven when his wrist watch woke him with a quick zap. Deku was much slower to wake, sitting up in bed with messy hair and blinking sleep from his eyes with a frown after Katsuki had barked at him to get up. The blonde threw words back Deku's way as he disappeared into the bathroom, letting the nerd know damn well that if he hadn't stayed up on his laptop, then he wouldn't have been so tired. Katsuki could imagine the sleepy grunt Deku would have given to that and he smirked to himself as he closed the door behind him to shower and brush his teeth. He already knew that even if the nerd had gone to sleep the same time Katsuki had, his morning grogginess would have been the same. The greenette had never been one for the mornings, even more so now that there was no demand to get up early and get some training in before a day of hero work.

When Katsuki emerged from the bathroom, hair properly dried and all, he found Deku shuffling about in the little kitchenette area, squinting into the cupboard through sleepy eyes in search for tea and coffee or something. Katsuki instead grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him in the direction of the bathroom, telling the nerd along the way that they would go downstairs for a proper breakfast once he was done. Deku just blinked back at him in the doorway and gave a gentle nod before disappearing inside.

Breakfast was an assortment of different foods from a buffet, Deku opting for sweeter things that made Katsuki twist his lips and roll his eyes in disgust. It wasn't that Katsuki didn't like sweet foods, more so he liked them in small doses at a time but watching Deku smile widely at his maple syrup covered monstrosity made Katsuki's stomach turn. After breakfast was done and dusted it was finally time to step outside and meet the cold wintery air of the mountain.

It was a fifteen minute walk up cleared pathways to reach the little village like area that housed a bar, restaurant, small grocery store, a few clothing outlets, and the hire shop where they headed to first to pick up the gear they had rented for the slopes. They changed into their snow gear there, dropped their other items into a paid locker and picked up their equipment. It hadn't been the plan to get onto the slopes so soon, contemplating going back to their room to change and drop off their stuff, but the nerds eyes had been so big and sparkling with excitement that Katsuki didn't dare make them wait a moment longer. Deku picked up a set of skis while Katsuki grabbed a snowboard and their lift passes and off they went, trudging up more paths in their rigid boots till the buildings dropped away behind them and they were met with the more open expanse of the slopes.

They would have just fitted on their skis and board to their boots and grabbed the next chair up, but when Katsuki looked back to see if Deku was ready, he could see the greenette's mouth twist into a nervous line and instead barked at him to take his damn skis back off and they stepped out of the line. It was painfully obvious that they would be starting off with the basics first and Katsuki would much rather do that on the sidelines on a gentle small slope rather than dumping the nerd right onto the main slope, despite how entertaining that would have been.

It was like watching a newly hatched penguin on ice watching the nerd try to plant his skis on the snow and unable to stop himself from sliding forward. He would consistently fall over in his attempts to stop till Katsuki roared with annoyance from the nerd not listening to his instructions properly – or just not getting them – and took them from him. The blonde put his boots down on the skis himself, though they didn't fit right, and properly demonstrated the position he had been barking at the nerd to make to slow himself and to come to a stop. He had it after that and after a few times gliding down the pitiful slope on the sidelines and successfully slowing to a stop without face planting or falling back on his ass, Katsuki gave a grunt of approval and decided it was time to actually hit the slopes for real.

They spent the majority of the sunlit hours going up and down the slopes over and over again, just getting a feel of it Katsuki's supposed. He would have preferred to go off the main slope and onto some more challenging paths, but he couldn't bring himself to abandon the nerd, something that he was surprised at himself for not grinding his teeth at. Rather, Katsuki just calmly followed the greenette up and down the slopes, trailing behind him as he got more confident with it each time. Even more surprisingly, Katsuki didn't turn it into some kind of race or challenge as he just hung back behind the other man, never getting in his way and he would be rewarded at the end of each run with Deku beaming back at him and green eyes sparkling with joy and excitement when he pulled the gear from his face each time he reached the bottom of the slope. And that was enough for Katsuki, for today at least. He decided to himself that tomorrow he would try to persuade the nerd onto some of the trails through the trees rather than staying on the soon to be much more crowded main slope once the weekend hit.

But as they joined the queue for the lifts back up, their plans were thwarted by one extra in high vis gear. The man was making his way down the line, mouth moving widely as he spouted whatever words he had to say loudly. He didn't stop and speak to them directly, but rather their section of line, said what he had to say and then moved on to where more people were accumulating at the bottom of the slope.

Deku turned back around and signed what the man had spouted to Katsuki, ski poles dangling around his wrists from their straps while he signed slowly and in a more exaggerated manner through his gloves as best he could. It was sloppy but Katsuki got it in the end.

They're closing the slope, he signed with wide eyes and a frown, says there's a storm coming and that we should head back to our accommodation.

Katsuki had no words to say to that and simply just lifted his head back to the sky and let his throat ripple with an irritated growl. He had no idea how loud he was being about it, but at that moment he didn't care. No body would notice him with a beanie over his hair and oversized snow goggles covering a good portion of his face, unlike Deku who had pulled his goggles up while off the slope and had green tufts sticking out here and there from under his own beanie. It was also while staring up above that he narrowed his eyes and quieted his rumbling when he finally took in how dark they clouds were becoming. He lowered his gaze and lifted his wrist to check the time on his smart watch, clumsily pushing aside the cuff on his snow jacket to do so. It was only three in the afternoon. Katsuki had noticed the weakening light but had simply assumed it had been later in the day and closer to sunset.

The blonde finally let out another irritated sigh and grunted for them to make a move back to their room, making a brief stop on the way to grab something proper to make a meal out of seeing as the restaurants were to close early too. Deku grabbed some snacks that made Katsuki roll his eyes.

Back in their room they took turns showering, Katsuki making a point of going first so that by the time Deku was done, dinner was practically ready. The greenette gave an amused lop sided smile and waved his hands about how it was a bit early for dinner and before he could add on something about them being far too young for early dinners, Katsuki shoved the wrap he had made in the nerd's mouth. He wasn't thrilled with what he could manage outside of a proper kitchen and a full array of utensils, but it was sure as hell a whole lot better than vending machine food and with Deku's hands and mouth busy, Katsuki could eat his own in peace.

The rest of the evening was spent sitting on the floor on opposite sides of the small coffee table in the living room with drinks and snacks surrounding the edges and with a deck of cards in the middle. Katsuki had initially pulled his lips when Deku presented him with the idea of card games, but eventually he gave in to the greenette's pouting and sat down to play a variety of card games – as many as one could with just two people.

They played games such as Gin Rummy, Cribbage, and even silly ones like Go Fish which after a while Katsuki couldn't help but to get drawn into and before he knew it he was loudly proclaiming his victory over Deku. Eventually once that steam started to run out they settled into something else, creating their own alternative truth or dare game with the cards, only it was less dare and more truth as the snow storm outside was finally in full swing. It was simple enough, they would draw a card each and whoever had the lowest numbered card was the victim of the others question and if they couldn't answer it, then there would be a price to pay…literally, forking out a note of cash each time they refused to answer a question. A good alternative would have been drinking but seeing as Deku still couldn't drink due to the meds he still threw back each and every day, that left Katsuki as the only one with a beer sitting at his side of the little table, something he had been taking sips of throughout. Not enough for even a hint of a buzz, but just enough to be pleasant.

The questions they shot back and forth to one another were pretty mediocre Katsuki felt. After all they had practically been around each other their entire damn lives outside of the period of time after graduating and rolling full steam ahead into their careers so there wasn't that much more to know outside of maybe some more personal things such as relationships, if Deku had had any that is, because Katsuki certainly hadn't. And that peeked Katsuki's interest. Once it crossed his mind it was hard to push it back down, Katsuki recalling yet again that Deku had mentioned for his bucket list that he had never kissed a guy before – until Katsuki that is – so he assumed that meant Deku had at least kissed a girl before.

They both drew, Katsuki pulling a ten while Deku only managed a three.

So he asked. Asked up front if Deku had ever had a relationship before.

Deku seemed to sit a fraction straighter at that, lips forming a flat line as he blinked at Katsuki's question for a moment more.

I have, the greenette signed in return, a smile forming on his face again though it looked a little sheepish and he diverted his green gaze slightly, it was short though.

Girl? Katsuki queried with a quick motion of his hands and Deku didn't seem to jump on him about there now being more than one question. Deku just gave a quick nod in response

But you like guys? Katsuki narrowed his eyes. At that Deku gave a smirk with a brow lifted as if you say "really?". Katsuki lifted his hand as a sign of surrender, message received and he wouldn't push the topic further. Deku's expression had practically screamed that it wasn't that hard to get and Katsuki leaned back, arms pushing back behind himself to brace against the rug they sat upon to keep himself upright.

Deku leaned forward, his smirk melting into a more relaxed smile and picked up two cards and without looking, flicked one Katsuki's way. It landed on Katsuki's chest; the blonde too relaxed to snatch it from the air. Katsuki spat his number two and Deku's grin widened, turning his card in silent triumph to reveal a six and so the game went on.

Katsuki didn't ask any more questions around Deku's taste in extras and they had a few laughs as they played on, but Katsuki found his inner curiosities burning. Something that he tried to quell, tried to tell himself that it didn't matter and that he shouldn't even care, but it didn't stop his mind ticking over. Deku had a girlfriend once upon a time so Katsuki could assume that he had kissed the chick, but being in relationship meant there could have been more to it than that – not that doing more with someone was exclusive to only those inside relationships, Katsuki knew that much – so he wondered if Deku had slept with the girl and if so why hadn't sleeping with a guy been on his bucket list? Maybe he didn't like guys enough for that, or he just hadn't wanted to say it to Katsuki. There could be a multitude of reasons why but now that the thought had wriggled its way into Katsuki mind he couldn't escape it. Not until Deku caught his attention again, asking a question after pulling out a nine from the deck.

How did kissing me feel? He asked with a hint of a teasing smirk. Katsuki's eyes narrowed his way.

It was fine, he replied, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes because the truth was he had liked it and he'd be lying if that kiss didn't plague his mind from time to time. Just look at how it had ruined him for crying out loud.

Just fine? Pushed the nerd, a glint of something Katsuki didn't like forming in his eye, Is it because it was your first time or because it was with me? He pressed. Katsuki narrowed his eyes further, brows drawing in as he did but before he could answer he was saved as the lights suddenly went dark.

Saved by the bell….or the storm more so because Katsuki did not like the look in Deku's eye like the nerd had the ability to see right through him. He more so hoped the glint had been Deku just being a little shit and trying to poke at Katsuki mentally, but he also knew that the longer the questioning on that topic went on, the more Deku would be able to see and Katsuki didn't want the nerd to know how much that damn kiss had affected him so the power going out plenty welcomed.

With no lights to see one another, communication was impossible outside of using their watches and Katsuki honestly couldn't be bothered with that when they were right by each other, so he rose and declared that he was going to go to bed instead. If Deku had anything to say on it, Katsuki had no clue – and clearly there was nothing of that much importance to say or the nerd would have used the watches, or their phones or whatever – and all he could do was assume that the nerd went to bed himself after he had settled in and closed his eyes to sleep.

Katsuki woke to hands on him. His eyes shot open and his body sprang up, legs rotating around to get off of the mattress already before he even paused to register Deku before him. The room was monotone with the dim, barely-there natural light peeking in from behind the curtains, the only colour was the yellow light coming in through the hallway, the power back on and the door to their room left wide open. Katsuki's red eyes narrowed and locked onto Deku before he registered the concern on the nerd's face. Then his gaze was drawn to the door as silhouettes cut through the yellow light bleeding into the room. Deku's gaze turned to face the pair of men and single woman hovering just outside the room, looking to them almost expectantly. Deku's hands lifted to sign and Katsuki's eyes fixated on them, desperate to know what he fuck was going on so early in the morning.

Some people got lost in that storm last night, Deku signed quickly, they are asking for our help to find them.

Katsuki's brow creased as his brows hardened with both annoyance and concern. It was his job as a hero to be concerned and to want to leap out of the bed to get out there and search. But he was also annoyed. Annoyed that despite being inactive heroes, some extras had recognized them and come crying for their help anyway, all to look for more damn extras that had been too dumb to not be on the slopes during a storm. Despite how his lips curled up into a snarl, he got the rest of the way out of the bed to change. His slacks and tank top wouldn't be enough to go outside in, or he'd be the one needing recusing himself.

Deku read him like a book and stepped back, a small almost apprehensive smile touching his lips before he turned around to face the small crowd waiting at the door, gave them a nod and they bustled away. Deku went forward to close the door so they could change in privacy.

The sun hadn't even risen enough to give colour to the early dawn scape by the time they were outside, their breath creating visible clouds of air, and standing among a crowd of other people, staff, volunteers and local heroes alike, listening to someone up front talk to them all. Deku gave up signing the speaker's words when Katsuki made a point of not looking his way, still not thrilled about being a part of it all, but still standing there to take part none the less. He was a hero after all. Maybe not a currently active one, but nothing would change the fact that even with a whirlwind of cusses and complaints, Katsuki was never the sort to sit idle. Deku was very much the same, minus the annoyed grumbling and scowling and cussing under his breath.

The main slope had long since been cleared as somewhere the missing idiots could have been so instead the group was divided into two teams and split up to scour the uncleared forest on either side, starting from the base of the slope upwards. They fanned out to form a line, each person being no more than ten meters from their neighbor and slowly began the trek up, trudging through deep snow and keeping a look out as they did. From the puffs of air from Katsuki's neighbors, Deku on his right and an extra on his left, he knew they were calling out for the lost tourists and would occasionally stop to search through any suspiciously large lumps of snow big enough to bury someone in, but so far no luck.

The storm had been a rough one, with fallen branches and uneven clumps of snow, even a fallen tree from the wind and weight of the snow and more than once Katsuki felt the soft thump of snow falling from the branches above and landing on his covered head or shoulders. He even held back a bark of laughter when he glimpsed a clump fall right onto Deku's beanie clad head, the nerd freezing at the surprise before shaking it off like a dog freeing itself from excess water. But they were on a job, technically, so it wasn't the time for it.

They had been trudging through the snow for almost forty minutes when the next thing that happened caught Katsuki completely by surprise.

The search and rescue job had been simple enough for Katsuki to partake in despite his deafness thanks to their line formation through the woods, ensuring that everyone was in sight of at least two others as they went, but that didn't mean he wasn't still at a disadvantage as the traversed the terrain. Something that hadn't crossed Katsuki's mind until there was a flash of green to his right and before he could even turn his head that way, Deku's body crashed into his side with enough force to carry them several feet through the air before crashing into the snow. Despite their time off from hero work, being tackled by the greenette so suddenly was like being hit by a small car…probably not exactly the same because though sore, nothing felt broken, but the force had still been great and Katsuki put that down the how quickly Deku had charged his way.

Katsuki could feel the cold of the deep snow seeping in through his back and sat up, shaking snow from his face as he did to see a fallen branch where he had been just a second before. In the quiet of the snowy terrain, Deku must have heard it snap and fall before diving across the span between them.

Clouds of air came from Katsuki's open mouth, the adrenaline starting to hit him after the fact. He blinked at the fallen branch, big enough to have done some decent damage, before something new demanded his attention.

His watch was buzzing.

Katsuki didn't have to look to know what it was alerting him too and he turned in the snow to face Deku beside him. The nerd's heart had given a little flare here and there over the previous day, the excitement of being on the slopes giving it the occasional unfelt blip, but this was different. This time the watch didn't just stop at the one alert. It kept buzzing, alerting to a cardiac event. Katsuki grabbed at Deku's shoulder beside him and rolled the other man onto his back. He wasn't met with the usual confused green blinking the nerd offered whenever Katsuki turned a concerned look his way after his watch had gone off, but this time, it was clear Deku was feeling it.

Izuku's eye's were shut tightly, his brows creased and jaw clenched. His breathing was heavy judging from the puffs of visible air coming from him and a hand clutched at his chest where he felt the pain. Katsuki called his name but Izuku wouldn't even open his eyes to look to him.

Suddenly some snow was kicked up around them and another searcher joined them, coming down onto their knees in a hurry to hover over Izuku's other side. Katsuki could see that they were talking, trying to speak to the greenette but were getting nothing. Their face lifted to Katsuki, their lips moving frantically as they barked questions Katsuki's way but he had no way of understanding them.

With heart thrumming away inside his chest Katsuki barked back the few words he hoped could help the other person make sense of the situation. He shot back with "his heart", telling the other person in as few of words as possible that it was Izuku's heart that was the problem, that is was an already known condition and that they needed a hospital immediately. The other person took all of Katsuki's broken and frantic words in, processed them for a second and then turned away to yell back down the line. Katsuki had no way of knowing what they were calling for but seconds later someone else was coming their way, exchanged some quick words with the other and then together they moved around, Katsuki frustratingly stepping back because he couldn't exactly coordinate with them until he knew exactly what was going on, and lifted Izuku between them and started carrying him as quickly as they could out of the trees and back towards the main slope. All Katsuki could do was follow a step behind as his frustrations built at the shitty situation.

They reached the open area of the main slope and the two extras gently placed Izuku out in the middle of it, Katsuki close on their heels. He would have growled at the others as to why the fuck they had just put the greenette down in the middle of the open when they should have been at least going back down the rest of the slope and into the town for at least some basic first aid shit and a defibrillator if it reached that point, but instead Katsuki went to Izuku's side. His wrist was still vibrating with a warning, though the frequency had slowed some. Something Katsuki could only hope to be a good sign as he knelt over Izuku, he went to reach a hand to his face without thinking before he noticed the snow clinging to his glove and despite his own discomfort at the cold air, tore it off so he could reach out to Izuku without wetting his face with snow.

Izuku's body seemed to have relaxed some, his hand still over his heart but no longer clinging at the material so desperately and his face had relaxed enough for him to pant for air through his open mouth rather than from behind clenched teeth. It was clear he was still in some sort of pain judging from his short, sharp breaths. Katsuki's warm fingers touched Izuku's cold cheek and the greenette's eyes opened at the contact lightly, emerald iris' slowly turning Katsuki's way. Izuku suddenly looked so tired that it stabbed at Katsuki's chest with greater concern and it was as though the air had become frozen in his chest for a couple of seconds before coming out again as a shudder.

Izuku's lips opened and moved with words that Katsuki couldn't hear and some how that pained the blonde more before the two extras that had carried Izuku there along with some others that had arrived at some unknown point came back to them, crowding around and hands touched at Katsuki's shoulders, trying to ease him away. But he shrugged them off aggressively, teeth coming together in a snarl at his refusal to leave his friend's side. One of them persisted and it was only when Katsuki tore his gaze from Izuku's tired eyes that had held onto his own just as much, that he saw the man point to the sky. A helicopter was coming in quickly and it was only upon seeing that that Katsuki felt some of the pent up panic ease the slightest knowing that the idiots hadn't just dragged Izuku out into the open to dye.

Now with understanding they reached for Katsuki's shoulders again, trying to usher him back and with one last glance back to meet Izuku's somewhat calm expression, did Katsuki relent and move back. In fact they all moved back several meters except for one man as the helicopter neared. It couldn't land on the slope so instead a bright orange bed was brought down along with a paramedic on a line to pick up the nerd, secure him in and lifted him back up. It pricked at Katsuki's chest to see Izuku being lifted away without him, but he ground his teeth and bared with it. He understood. There was only so much room on board and time was of the essence. The moment the orange bed with Izuku was pulled in, the helicopter was already turning in the air and swiftly going back the way it had come. It had come so quickly that Katsuki could only assume that it was based somewhere nearby for these exact situations, but the nearest hospital was down the mountain, nearly a two hour's drive from where they were.

The lone man that had stayed by Izuku to help secure him to the bed wandered back their way and Katsuki stepped forward, not caring if his voice was loud as he pleaded that he needed to get to the hospital to be with Izuku. The man looked him right in the eyes before giving a nod and turning to head back down the slope with Katsuki in tow. Turned out the man was a staff member and led Katsuki to his car and gestured for him to get in before they headed off down the only road that winded down the mountain and led to the town at its base.

The trip had been grueling, taking far longer than it should have thanks to the storm having caused damage to the road. Fallen trees, frozen roads and even a landslide at one point, all of which they had to stop and clear or wait to be cleared, something Katsuki couldn't do. Despite the cold he worked up a sweat heaving logs, blasting roads to rid it off ice and even using his quirk to rid the road of the debris left from the landslide. It was hard work but there was no way Katsuki was going to waste time doing it with a shovel or waiting for machinery to be called in. They had passed road works on the way as teams were already working to clear the way but they were far too slow at it. The man driving Katsuki frowned the blonde's way and seemed to attempt to scold or lecture him to which Katsuki – after letting the man run his mouth for a few moments – stated that he was deaf and the man closed his mouth and frowned harder before gesturing to get back into the car. Katsuki would have left him to rant on if he wasn't doing him such a favor and at the end of the day, Katsuki was saving them the hours of road works ahead too so he didn't see where the fault lay.

Katsuki had thought that blowing off the steam would have helped some. Make his heart stop hammering in his chest like a cartoon character who had too much caffeine, but it did little to ease the ache in his chest as anxiety clawed at him from the inside.

He knew Izuku was okay. He could still see the line representing each beat of his heart jump up and down across his screen since he had been air lifted away, but it annoyingly did little to calm him. The sickening thought that those lines could die away at any moment made Katsuki want to race to the hospital as quickly as he could, but with the clouds so low and the threat of bad weather still in the air, he couldn't get there himself. Not without risking getting lost in low visibility weather and not only wasting precious time, but also becoming an extra needing rescuing himself. Car was the best option, but with chains on the tires and things as they were, the drive was slow, leaving Katsuki to his thoughts, something he did not want in the slightest.

Hours had passed by the time they pulled up to the hospital and Katsuki flew out of the car and in through the front doors as fast as his legs would take him without resorting to his quirk. His determined red eyes locked onto the nurse at the reception – the poor staff member practically flinching when they saw him coming – and he marched over before demanding that someone take him to Izuku Midoriya's room. He had hoped he hadn't been too loud to catch the attention of others in the space, but in the end he didn't care that much. Seeing Izuku safe was more important. The nurse gave him a quick nod before glancing over their computer to find the room and stood to lead the way, thankfully without any words.

Each step made Katsuki's heart beat harder. Izuku's heart had stayed fairly consistent for the past several hours but Katsuki couldn't relax until he saw the nerd okay with his own damn eyes.

They reached a closed sliding door along the hallway, the nurse stopping by it before raising a hand in a "wait here" motion before opening the door just enough to stick their head in. There was a moments pause as she waited for who Katsuki could only assume was Izuku's permission for him to enter which made him grind his teeth. At their primary hospital, Katsuki would have just been able to waltz in, the doctors and nurses assigned to Izuku were so used to his presence by now, and it irritated him that he was being held up by some stupid formalities.

The nurse seemed to flinch back and that made Katsuki's teeth grinding come to a halt as the nurse stepped back looking a little shocked before the door slid open aggressively and a figure stepped out. There wasn't much time to register what was before him before the greenette marched the few steps his way and then it hit him.

A/N:

Katsuki has always been a strong believer in being an actual hero and not "selling" himself as he puts it….though he gets paid for being a hero….its complicated okay!

Despite Katsuki's strong stance on it all, if anything, he wouldn't have minded being on a hero card – something that feels so close to home with him seeing as how he had fawned over them as a child himself – but he carries the mind set of "well if I say yes to that, when will it end", not so much in the sense that he would give in, but more so the annoyance of more people asking him for things than if he just put up a thick wall with the words NO painted on them. That and also he figured that if he only ever allowed his hero image to be sold on a collectable card and nothing else, then it would be greater in value seeing as it would be his only merch available and he despised the idea of people hoarding silly little cards of him or trying to make a quick buck on them etc etc.

Also, just for the record, Deku is pan.

I don't recall if I had mentioned in previous chapters the boys and the snow...
Izuku's only experience in the snow had been a high school excursion where they were there to learn survival skills etc to better themselves at being heroes in any environment, but they didn't have the time to relax and ski or anything. Katsuki on the other hand had been to the snow with his family for a holiday twice outside of school trips so he was confident with both skis and a snowboard.